Headstone of the Gilded Gaze (Patreon)

Armor (shield), artifact (requires attunement)

A golden aegis depicting the visage of a forgotten snake-haired God-Queen. You gain a +3 bonus to your AC while wielding this shield. While attuned to this shield you can sense the presence of gold within a 100 foot radius of you and neither you nor the shield can be targeted by any divination magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors.

Gild. As an action, you can aim this shield at a creature within 5 feet of you. The target must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the creature is instantly petrified. Otherwise, a creature that fails the save begins to turn to gold and is restrained. While restrained in this way, the target must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn, becoming petrified on a failure or ending the effect on a success. A creature petrified by this ability is turned to gold and their soul is captured within the shield until the petrification ends or this shield is destroyed. A creature is immune to this effect if it does not have a body made of flesh, or has legendary actions. The creature remains petrified until it is freed by a spell such as Greater Restoration. Once this property is used, it cannot be used again until the next dawn.

Glint. Gold produced by this shield is cursed and any creature other than yourself that touches it with their bare flesh or examines it for 1 minute must make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by the otherworldly lustrous shine. A creature charmed by this gold becomes obsessed with it and feels the need to possess it, no matter the cost. They become untrustworthy of anyone they believe wishes to take the gold from them and will plead, bargain, and even fight to keep it to themselves. This affliction persists until the creature falls unconscious or is targeted by the Remove Curse spell. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the thrall of the gold for the next 24 hours.

Gain. You can draw on the knowledge of the souls trapped inside this shield. When you finish a long rest, you can choose to gain proficiency in two skills or languages of your choice. This benefit lasts until you finish a long rest.

Curse. This shield is cursed, and attuning to it extends that curse to you. While cursed in this way you are unwilling to part with it, keeping it by your side at all times. You also become exceptionally greedy, particularly in the case of gold. If you die while attuned to this shield your body is petrified as though affected by its Gild feature.

Destroying the Shield. The only way to destroy the shield is by using its ability on a Mirror of Life Trapping, reflecting its gaze and turning it to nonmagical gold. This gold remains cursed as though by the Glint feature.

Legends tell of a golden city; a brilliant beacon of glittering ziggurats and immaculate treasures, ruled by a God-Queen with a matching golden gaze. Those who claimed to have caught a glimpse of this glimmering paradise would be obsessed with returning to the land, unable to bear living outside of the abundance of glorious metal. Years later, when stories of the city had been dismissed as rumor and fable, expeditions still were made to the far off lands in search of even a shred of evidence left by the civilization. And though the city itself was never found, what was discovered instead was far grander, and far more terrifying, than any of them could have imagined.